It began in earnest when Nintendo released the Wii U console just before Thanksgiving 2012. It was a much bigger hardware upgrade than the Wii, with hardware indeed better than other consoles of The Seventh Generation of Console Video Games. Its "revolutionary" feature was a controller with a built-in 6.2" LCD screen. It is also compatible with most Wii games, though, it is not compatible with GameCube games.

Sony has also unveiled their entry, the PlayStation 4. Learning from their mistakes with the PS3's notoriously difficult architecture, they made the console much easier to develop for. Its controller also adds in a touchpad to match Nintendo's GamePad touchscreen, along with several other features.

On May 21st 2013, Microsoft unveiled their entry, the Xbox One, thus setting off the flag that officially signals the start of the eighth generation console wars.

Valve Software has also presented their intentions to enter the console market with in some form, however enthusiasts are still divided over whether it's a console or a small PC, and whether it's part of the Eighth Generation of Consoles. Also, a side note should be made for the Ouya, a kickstarter-backed Android console. One thing's for sure, though: This generation will be remembered as the one where the line between consoles and computers blur, with both sharing more architecture and hardware with each other than ever before.

The eighth generation has begun. Only time will tell what changes or lack thereof it will bring to the industry.

For those environmentally conscious, this generation showcases just how much the hardware engineers have put thought into energy efficiency. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both use just a little more energy than PlayStation 3 Slim or Xbox 360 S does while offering 4-6 times more performance. Even though the WiiU consumes twice as much energy, as the Wii, it offers performance similar to if not better than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 while using five times less energy. Previous generations all had the consoles consume at least twice as much energy compared to previous generation's initial release consoles.

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